Inset left: Michael Wayne Hatcher (Palo Pinto County Jail). Inset right: Leah Dawn Adams (Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office). Background: The area where Adams' body was found in the Brazos River in Mineral Wells, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man is behind bars after killing a woman he claimed was "flirting" with him and then passing out at home in the front yard, the Lone Star State's top law enforcement agency says.
Michael Wayne Hatcher, 50, stands accused of one count of capital murder over the death of 32-year-old Leah Dawn Adams, according to the Palo Pinto County Sheriff's Office.
The investigation began in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, when the victim was found dead in the Brazos River, the sheriff's office said.
Near the river, the woman's Dodge Ram 1500 was engulfed in flames, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained by Dallas-based ABC affiliate WFAA and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Adams was lying face up in the water, authorities said, identifying the location of the grim find as the Oaks Crossing in Mineral Wells — a historic area used to ford and ferry livestock on cattle drives.
A blanket was found next to the victim, the sheriff's office said. She also had visible signs of "severe trauma" to her face, according to the court document. On the shoreline, investigators found an open knife. Downstream, investigators found Adams' driver's license.
Deputies contacted the Texas Rangers for help with the investigation and law enforcement worked quickly to identify Hatcher as a suspect.
Palo Pinto County Sheriff J.R. Patterson announced the defendant's arrest later that same day.
Family members of the victim told investigators that Adams' cellphone had last sent a location signal at a residence in Mineral Wells, according to the affidavit. Authorities said Hatcher and another woman he is in a relationship with were the occupants of that home.
During an initial interview with law enforcement, Hatcher said he was fishing at the river on Aug. 26 when he met Adams, who "had begun flirting with him," according to the court document. The defendant said he later rode in the victim's truck to a gas station.
As for his own truck, the man said the victim never got inside, but she did sit on the tailgate, according to law enforcement. Hatcher allegedly went on to say he left the river "sometime after midnight" and returned "right before sunrise," according to the affidavit.
The defendant added that "only he and Leah were at the river together after midnight," authorities said. The man allegedly said he saw her truck but not Adams herself when he returned the next day.
In the affidavit, rangers wrote that an investigator saw a "transfer stain consistent with blood under the front pocket of Hatcher's jeans."
Investigators then spoke with the woman who lived with Hatcher.
She told authorities the defendant was lying on a wooden bench in the front yard when she woke up to take her children to school that morning, according to law enforcement. She is also the legal owner of the Ford F-150 that Hatcher drove down to the river, law enforcement said, and she consented to a search of the vehicle.
Inside the F-150, investigators found blood, a bloody and sand-covered shirt, and a backpack containing a journal, authorities said. The journal itself allegedly contained Adams' expired license.
Once the victim's driver's license was located, the search was stopped until a search warrant could be obtained, according to the search warrant affidavit.
After returning to the residence with a search warrant, investigators seized human hair, a blue shirt stained with blood, a Taurus GX4 handgun, and a backpack containing Adams' belongings.
Hatcher is being detained in the Palo Pinto County Jail without bond.